Lubricating apparatus



May 10, 1938. v. G. KLEIN 2,116,760

' LUBRICATING' APPARATUS Filed May 19, 1957 55 /5 f7 FIGI. FIGZ.

55 27 3 3 55 5a I I J I 25 49 l I j i i i /5 I f 55 4 4/ 35 9 I 5/ 57 w I 2/ l 5/ i 49 E 26 I 45 I I 3 Patented May 10, 1938 PATET oice LUBRICATING APPARATUS Victor G. Klein, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Lincoln Engineering Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application May 19,

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to lubricating apparatus, and-with regard to certain more specific features, -togiance-type lubricant pumps for emptying barrels and the like.

invention is an improvement .upon the devices :shown in United States Patent 1,893,464 issued to Frank S. Barks January 3, 1933, and United States Patent 2,026,132, issued to myself December 31, 1935.

Among the several objects of the invention may the noted the provision of simpler and less expensive apparatus of the class described which will expel most of any entrained air from pumped lubricant. Other objects will be in part obvious :and in part pointed out hereinafter.

. The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features construction, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter .described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

.In'the accompanyingdrawing, in which is illus- :trated one of various possible embodiments of the invention,

. :Fig. 1 is a vertical section showing a barrel with a lance-type of pump applied thereto;

Fig. .2 is an enlarged detail of the lower end of said pump; and,

, Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 3-3 .of Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

Referring now more-particularly to Fig. 1, there is shown at numeral I a barrel or the like for the transportation of lubricant. The barrel has a bottom 3, down to the level of which or closely thereto it is desired to abstract lubricant. For :this purpose is provided the lance-type of pump ,shown in Fig. l which comprises a body 5 carry- .inga flange I. The flange may be bolted to the .head 9 of the barrel 1 after the body 5 has been thrust into an opening I! in said head. Extending downwardly from the lower end of the body 45 5 is a delivery tube l3, the lower end of which tcarriesa working cylinder Passing through the tube l3 and extending into .the working cylinder 15 is a piston rod 11 which also extends outwardly from the upper end of the body 5 by way of a packing gland 19. A mechanical linkage 2| articulated between the rod I] and the body 5 is provided for reciprocating the rod ll. The body 5 carries an outlet 23 for delivery of lubricant.

In order that the upward stroke of the rod .ll

1937,1Serial No. 143,402

may be limited, for reasons to be shown, a stop 25 is placed thereon which, at a suitable point in the stroke engages the body 5.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, the

lower end of the rod I! has held thereto a relatively long, tubular extension 26 of relatively small bore. Fastening is effected by means of a threaded member 27. This member 21 also serves as part of a valve. This is accomplished :by having it serve as a seat for a hollow piston 2-3, the latter being arranged slidably on a reduced portion 3| of the piston rod 11. A spring 33 normally reacts from a pin 35 in the rod 11, to force the piston 29 to its seat on the member 21. The piston is packed against the wall of the cylinder 15 as shown at numeral 31. Openings 39, in conjunction with the hollow portion 4-! of the piston 29, form a passage between the upper side of the piston and its lower side when it is unseated from the member 27.

Threaded into the lower end of the cylinder I5 is a member 43 which comprises a foot valve. It has inlet ports 45 and an open top 49. The tube 25 forms a bearing for a slidable tube 5|. The tube 51 carries a valve disc 53 and an open guide spider 41.

The bearing tube 5! slides on the tube 26 and may move upwardly enough to permit unseating of the valve 53 from the top 49. Spider 41 centers the disc 53 and tube 5!. The upward movement is limited by member 41 contacting a shoulder 48 in the member 43. Thus the spider 41 is slidable in the member 43, and the tube 5| is slidable on the tube 26.

By reciprocating the piston rod 11, upon a down stroke, the tendency is to build up pressure between the valve53 and the piston 29. This results in automatic closing or seating of the foot valve 53 and automatic unseating of the piston 29 from the seat member 21. Then, as the piston descends, it passes through the lubricant and the latter is in efiect transferred from the under side of the piston to the upper side thereof, through the passages l l and 39.

On the other hand, when the piston rod I1 is raised, the piston 29 seats upon the member 21 and lubricant is drawn in from the under side of the member 48 to a location above the valve 53 (which now automatically opens) and to the region below the piston 29.

At its upper end the sliding tube 26 has communicating openings 55 from its interior to the region between the valve seat 49 and the piston seat 21. As is known, the type of lubricant which comes in containers such as the barrel I entrain air as the level of the lubricant approaches the top of the inlet 45, particularly when the barrel is moved about. Furthermore, when the lance is inserted into the barrel, air is trapped under the foot valve 53. In any event, entrained air is a source of difficulty, because it breaks the pump prime and if it passes in too great a quantity through the meter which is often associated with the outlet 23 the meter reading is placed in unallowable error. It is therefore important that air be eliminated. It is eliminated by means of the present device, because, upon an upstroke entrained air, which may be drawn into the opening with the lubricant, is subsequently drawn through the opening in member 49. As the lubricant with the air therein travels into the space in cylinder l5 (above the valve 53), the entrained air tends to rise. That is to say, in the chamber between the valve 53 and the piston 29, the lubricant tends to settle out by gravity from the entrained air, leaving the latter in an occlusion near the then closed member 27. This means that upon the next downward stroke, and when the charge above the valve 53 is compressed, the air is adjacent the region then occupied by the ports 55. Upon the down stroke (member 2'! closed) the air is compressed and expelled through said ports and down through the tube 26. When the piston 29 descends, the relatively stiff spring 33 maintains the piston closed against member 21 as long as air only is encountered. This is because the air, being a very mobile fluid, readily finds its way through the small openings 55,

whereas the relatively thick and less mobile lubricant does not progress readily through said openings when it reaches them and builds up enough back-pressure to unseat the member 29 from the member 21. The stiffness of the spring 33 is designed for these conditions. Inasmuch as the tube 26 is of a relatively small bore, the air is projected downwardly with a relatively high velocity and is projected through the charge within the member 43 down to the bottom 3 of the barrel. Here the charge of air can proceed no further downwardly and is deflected laterally out of the openings 45.

It will be seen from Fig. 2, wherein the piston is in its lowermost position, that the air inlet ports 55 are at all times during the reciprocation of the piston at points above the foot valve, that is, they are always between the piston and the foot valve. Furthermore, they are near the piston, and are therefore always in the region in which the entrained air tends to gather, that is, at the upper end of the space between the piston and foot valve. Furthermore, the length of the tube 26 is such that the outlet 2 thereof, during reciprocation oi the tube 26, is always below the foot valve 53.

It will be seen that although the outlet 2, when the piston starts to descend, is raised, that as the action proceeds, the outlet 2 descends as the air is ejected therefrom. The tube 26 being of small bore functions to give the air a high velocity which, together with the velocity of descent of the tube, ensures projecting the air through the lubricant below the foot valve 53 and to a point adjacent the outlet 45.

If the action is not complete or substantially complete upon a given stroke it may require several strokes to attain a complete prime and expulsion of most of the entrained air. One or a few strokes of the pump serve immediately to separate all but inconsequential air slugs from the lubricant and send it out of the opening 45 from whence it rises and escapes from the upper level of lubricant in the barrel.

In view of the above it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results are attained.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a. limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A pump comprising a cylinder, a valved piston reciprocating therein, an inlet valve spaced from said piston, air-transmitting means on the piston and movable therewith extending from a point between said piston and said inlet valve to a point beyond the inlet valve, said air-transmitting means having at least one air-receiving opening adjacent said piston.

2. A pump comprising a cylinder, a. valved piston reciprocating therein, a foot valve in the cylinder, a tube extending from said valved piston through said foot valve to a point therebeyond, said tube having an air inlet opening positioned so as to be within the space between said piston and foot valve at all times during the reciprocation of the piston, said tube having an outlet and being of a length such that said outlet during reciprocation shall always be below said foot valve.

3. A pump comprising a cylinder, a valved piston reciprocating therein, a foot valve in the cylinder, a tube movable with and extending from said valved piston down through said foot valve to a point therebeyond, said tube having an air inlet opening positioned so as to be within the space between said piston and foot valve at all times during the reciprocation of the piston, said ,4 0

tube having an outlet and being of a length such that said outlet during reciprocation shall always be below said foot valve, said tube having said inlet adjacent said piston and the tube having a relatively small bore and adapted to project air therethrough from a point above said foot valve to a point below the same with substantial ve locity, said cylinder having at least one inlet opening associated therewith at the lower end, the velocity of said air being such that it is projected into said last-named opening.

4. A pump comprising a cylinder, a piston rod reciprocating therein, a seat member associated with said rod, spring-pressed packing means forming with said seat a piston for transmitting delivering fluid to said foot valve, a tube extending from the piston and to a point beyond said foot valve, said tube having inlet means adjacent the piston and adapted to remain in the space between the piston and foot valve upon reciprocation, said tube having an outlet and being 01' such length that said outlet remains during reciprocation at points beyond said foot valve.

5. A pump comprising a cylinder, a piston rod reciprocating therein, a seat member associated with said rod, spring-pressed packing means forming with said seat a piston for transmitting fluid through said cylinder, a foot valve in the cylinder, said cylinder having inlet means for delivering fluid to said foot valve, a tube extending from the piston and to a point beyond said foot valve, said tube having inlet means adjacent the piston and adapted to remain in the 7B said valve, said tube having air-receiving openings adjacent said piston.

7. A pump comprising a cylinder, at valved piston reciprocating therein, an inlet valve spaced from said piston, air-transmitting means on the piston and movable therewith extending from a point between said piston and said inlet valve to a point beyond the inlet valve, said air-transmitting means having at least one air-receiving opening adjacent said piston, and at least one 10 air-expelling opening beyond the inlet valve.

VICTOR G. KLEIN. 

